KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Funeral arrangements have been set for a Clinton, Missouri, police officer killed in the line of duty Tuesday night.
Funeral services will be held for Ofc. Christopher Ryan Morton, 30, on Monday, March 12 at 11 a.m. at the Benson Center in Clinton.
A visitation will be held Sunday, March 11 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the same location.
The burial will be held at the Knob Noster Cemetery in Knob Noster, Missouri.
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This is a loss for everyone who lives here and it truly is,” Cpt. Sonny Lynch, Deputy Chief of the Clinton Police Department said.
Lynch first met Morton at the Central Missouri Police Academy.
“He smiled at everyone he was very upbeat and positive and has a young recruit in the police academy I realize those were great qualities for a police officer and I was flattered and happy when he chose to test with us,” Lynch said.
Morton joined the department in 2015 after serving in the military.
He left to work for the Veterans Affairs Police Department, but when tragedy struck the department seven months ago with the line of duty death of Ofc. Gary Michael, Morton was right back in Clinton.
“It was not an email or phone call. He was standing right here because after Gary was killed he came back here and never left. He stayed here. He stayed right here with us,” Lynch said.
Morton’s family told 41 Action News Thursday that they are grateful for everything the community is doing to honor the young man and the thin blue line.
“Those displays like that mean everything to us. So they may seem like a little thing but the symbolism of it and that nod at us that we matter means a great deal,” Lynch said.
As Clinton’s two dozen officers grieve their fallen brother, law enforcement from across Western and Central Missouri are stepping in patrol to the streets.
Similar acts will be seen in the days to come.
“It’ll be a display of solidarity between agencies and it’s display of respect and honor for a man that sacrificed his life for this town,” Lynch said.
The family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Christopher Ryan Morton Memorial Fund. Contributions can be left in the care of the funeral home, Vansant-Mills Funeral Home in Clinton.
A GoFundMe page has also been set up in Morton's honor.
